The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-03

business. Look out BANKED sharp now, 1of
them devils Amt fur from here, right now!
He strobe up to his horse. yanked his Win
chester out of its scabbard. and glared angrlly
at the huttes all about
Keep a mighty sharp lookout from this on,
and keep your guns right along with you. We
don't want them onery cusses to get the drop on
US. and fer one don't want to be shot until I've
killed some Indians. blank dash their thieving
souls"
II was exasperating beyond description To
work SO hard to find buffalo. to kill such fine
one after a fourteen mile chase over bad ground;
to dress the carcass-no light matter, let me as
sure you-and drive such weary distance 10 1T
with wagon. only to find the SKIN stolen ana the
skeleton ruined by cowardly. skulking redskins
was little too much. All that was bad enough,
but to find the only urstealable portion smeared
over with nasty war-paint and dirty red rag
tied to it. entirely too much. The unmiti-
gated gall of the sneaking coyotes in thus fling
ing defiance in our faces would have made
shooting matter of it if we had laid eyes on them
then. They were too lazy and unsklliful to kill
a buffalo on their own hook. but they were cute
enough when it came to skulking up to our prize
by right and getting away with it; and then, as
Jim remarked. they will tell their sauaws when
they get home how they chased and killed big
buffalo.
any signs of them, and dreamed there
were any in that country. True enough, we
knew that several bands of Piegan thieves
had been stealing stock and terrorizing the
troubles were feared; but that was our first in
timation that any of them had sought shelter in
our bad lands.
We cut off the head of the buffalo, put it into
the wagon. and started off to get the skin and
skeleton of Russell's big bull on our way to
camp What If the hounds had found that alsol
1t made me quake to think of it, and we hurried
on, fearing the worst If they had foundit-and
the carcass certainly lay in very conspicuous
pace--good evening!
Jim rode in advance. and secuted the country
on both sides of our course Although the
wrathy cowboy tried his best to find Indians. he
found only rock sign they had erected on the
top OF q butte, which he revengefully dashed
over the steep side. Ii all hands had only been
there equipped for the hunt, how quickly. and
even ioyfully would we have struck out to hunt
up and recover that skin. We fairly thirsted for
Indian gore that afternoon. and had we met the
thieves who stole our spoil we might easily have
got ourselves into a first-class scrape.
To our great relief we found the skin of Rus
sells buffalo undisturbed, and further on we
picked up the skins and meat of two more of
our victims. 1t was long after dark when we
finally got to camp with our heavy load, and the
horses were all tired out. They had chased buff
falo and pulled the wagon without rest for
nearly ten days.
had just six in camp that night. Aside from
the loss OF q magnificent buffalo skin worth
5000 at least and which could not have been
bought of US for $500. the impudent redskins
and the damage thereby inflicted upon our feel
ings could not be estimated in dollars and cents.
Some of the boys thought that by their lavish
expenditure Of war-paint and red flannel the
Indians actually intended to warn US out OF the
country
Russelfs voice was still for war; Jim anG
Boyd told me quietly, but pointedly. that they
were ready to stay by me in whatever wanted
to do, although they had little hope of our ever
| finding the Indians who stole the hide. Well
decided itself
| Our horses were all "played out" and needed
several days rest TO make them fit for another
| hard pull. We had our hands seven buffal,
| skins, one head and three big skeletons only
| half preserved, and unless the skins received
| close attention during the next three days some
| of them would come to grief Moreover, afte
| our anger cooled G little, told the boys would
not be willing to see one of them shot, or be sho
| myself, for half dozen buffalo skins. precious
though they were: and since it might take two
weeks, and it might take forever. to find thos
| redskins. we might we'll put down that hid
| under the head of profit and loss.
| The next night we picketed all our horse
| close to camp, and watched them all night. bu
| without incident We hunted the countr
where the Indians had been as thoroughly as on
tired horses could do it, but saw no dispenser
| of war paint. The only sign we discovered wa
| an Indian bride ornamented with red flannel
| feathers and beads, which we found in the bot
| tom of coule, where some rider had droppe
| it. We very careful of our buffalo skin
after that, and our horses too, but from first t.
| last we saw no Indians whatever. The gan
| which played il 30 low down on us turned d
| later at the Lu-bar ranch, with pieces Of on
| buffalo skins under their saddles. They wer
| Piegans, and their were eleven of them-no
| SO many that our party of six need have bee,
| afraid to call upon them had we found then
but in any case it would have been a rash an
ill-advised proceeding. The cattlemen an
cowboys in that country would have been th
worse for it, even if we had recovered our stole
robe.